“Knockout revival… light on its feet and blessed with both sharp wit and a superb ensemble… the playing, on a wide variety of instruments, has a joyous improvisatory quality… it is the sheer panache of the whole ensemble that makes this revival so special, plus the sense that justice has finally been done to a great and undervalued musical.”

The Daily Telegraph ****

“As this jaw-droppingly skilful cast jump between instruments… it’s always an exciting spectacle.”

The Times ****

“Each cast member is equally strong performing a character as they are playing a number of instruments, creating a sound that is rich and full… The show is an ensemble piece through and through and proof that musicals do not need to be bathed in expensive production values to engage, fascinate and delight. This is a show that truly deserves its place on the West End stage and the standing ovation it received.”

The Stage ****

“A glowing, stripped down Sunset Boulevard… The versatility of these performers, some playing more than one instrument, delights… That Sunset Boulevard still so beguiles owes plenty to Lloyd Webber’s seductive music, to Goddard and those remarkable actor-musicians.”

Evening Standard ****

“There is a good deal of wit in the staging…But the main discovery is that inside Lloyd Webber's big belter of a musical, there is a smaller, more dramatic show that has been waiting for years to be let out.”

The Guardian ****

“I took another look at this gem of a show… every member of the cast was still full of enthusiasm… [it] just seems to get better and better.”

Sunday Telegraph *****

“They sound terrific in Sarah Travis’ stripped-down new arrangements performed by a cast of actor-musicians. The brass is sassy…”

The Times ****

“The 12-strong company perform Sarah Travis’s punchy arrangements with panache while singing up a storm… The whole ensemble are the stars…”

The Telegraph ****

“Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard has been drastically downsized to fit the tiny Watermill Theatre, but paradoxically makes a much bigger impact than it ever did in the West End.”

Sunday Express ****

“…a powerful evening… For aficionados of the lord, it’s full throttle and full satisfaction.”

Sunday Times ****

“Actor/Musicians usually create a terrific collaborative ensemble and these well-cast performers are excellent in their individual roles too.”

What’s On Stage ****

“Craig Revel-Horwood and Sarah Travis get 10 out of 10 for this latest actor/musician production… exuberant, glorious playing captures the sense of impending heart-break and requires the cast to learn two-and-a-half hours of music, an outstanding achievement.”

Newbury Weekly News

“…a magnificent revival and an outstanding show.”

The Henley Standard

“There are some richly enjoyable performances here, notably from Helen Power as posh Miranda”

The Scotsman

“Three of them also sing in lovely close harmony. You can do little but sit back and wonder at the transformative power of talent. The stage is aglow with it”

Time Out

“The cast, all first class musicians, supply their own accompaniment and do they blow up a storm.”

Worthing Herald

“It’s sparkily performed by the talented company”

Theatre Wales

“The ensemble cast do an excellent job”

The Guardian

“Again, the Octagon has got it spot on...”

The Bolton News

“The Octagon's staging of this classic is a real tour de force with a highly versatile… outstanding ensemble.”

The Lancashire Evening Post

“it requires a large cast of thirteen excellent actors who are also musicians… and all the music is performed and sung superbly.”

**** Manchester Evening News

“The ensemble cast, who sing and dance superbly through numerous costume, hat, wig and moustache changes, work seamlessly as a team.”

The Stage

“…it's worth it to hear Helen Power's sweet-voiced Jane sing of languid summer days. These solos resonate with the power and poignancy of youthful optimism,”

Evening Standard

“Helen Power is a joy as Jane, perfectly evoking the period with her warm exuberance and crystal-clear singing voice.”

The Stage

“Her voice has the perfect freshness for such a juvenile lead.”

Somerset County Gazette

“Her passionate voice filled the theatre with a sound close to perfection.”

The Worthing Herald

“…you would have to go a long way to better Helen Power as the young heroine Jane. She sings, speaks and dances Jenny Arnold’s routines superbly and, you can hear every word.”

Whatsonstage.com

“The amazing voices of Helen Power and Jamie Read bring the personalities of Tim and Jane to life.”

Herald Express

“With all-round musical ability and effortless soprano voice, Helen Power’s Jane is the epitome of the well-bred English rose, articulate and fun-loving.”

Western Morning News

“Helen Power – a tremendous talent”

Mid-Devon Gazette

“Perfectly executed: Helen Power as Pitti-Sing… one leaves this most idyllic of British theatres in no doubt that it has a summertime smash on its hands.”

The Telegraph

“If the air conditioning in the Watermill didn’t work, Craig Revel Horwood’s 14-person cast would have ended up incinerated by a killer-mix of their own energy and the encroaching heat wave… I defy anyone to resist the performers’ exuberance and professionalism”

The Times ****

"Helen Power’s sensationally supple Pitti-Sing… the atmosphere is as heady as a rock concert."

Whatsonstage.com ****

“…there is infectious energy and pizzazz aplenty as the cast sing and play up a storm.”

The Evening Standard ***

“Here were three gorgeous little maids like you've never seen them, with Nicola Hughes (Yum-Yum), Helen Power (Pitti-Sing) and Georgina Field (Peep-Bo), bodies on the writhe, eyelashes batting, giving it their all - and then some. Craig wanted them to have "the most lascivious manner possible". They succeeded and were funny as well.”

Newbury Weekly News

"to say that the production is sensational is no understatement ... charged with an electric fervour that carries the production into the heights of musical satire and beyond"

The Stage

“It’s a sexy production – if the three little maids had behaved like that at my school they’d have been expelled – and it’s a breathtaking display, full of energy. I loved it”

Paul Shave, Kick FM

“Quite simply amazing! …It’s a thrusting, suggestive, wild and hot Mikado that brought the house to its feet in a collective whoop of approval.”

Reviewsgate.com

“Whenever Helen Power appears as the enchantress, she dominates the stage. She makes sweeping, angled gestures. This is a striking creation, a real storybook enchantress. Children will remember her for a long time because this is how an enchantress should be.”

The Stage

“…the most difficult role of all, Gloria, is handled with great confidence by Helen Power. She really plays a fine flugelhorn and has a smart, vulnerable appeal.”

Oldham Evening Chronicle

“From the first curtain call by Power and her flugelhorn solo to the final patriotic rendition of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ the crowd were begging for more.”

Oldham Advertiser

“Add to this the live ‘Concerto D’Orange Juice’ by Rodrigo, played so well on the flugelhorn by Gloria Mullins (the real life Helen Power) and you have just some of the ingredients that make the whole evening special… The cast were uniformly excellent”

Whatsonstage.com

“Helen Power played a delightfully demure and beautiful Cinders.”

Yorkshire Post

“Indeed everything about Cinderella is magical and joyfully theatrical. If this reviewer could choose a pantomime to wrap up and take home, this would be the one.”

The Stage